


Sentiment

by TheAssassinLover



Series: The Life of Venna Tabris [9]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Angst, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Sentiment, learning of the past, pasts, venna talks about her wedding day, zevran unknowingly opens wounds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-02
Updated: 2016-12-02
Packaged: 2018-09-03 16:48:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8721346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAssassinLover/pseuds/TheAssassinLover
Summary: Zevran questions Venna about the ring she always wears. The answer he gets is a past riddled with pain.





	

Venna was sentimental. Zevran knew this well. Anything that was of importance to her she would keep. However, she was also practical. If she came across something more functional she would retire the item she was emotionally attached to. Her mother’s boots were still in her pack but she no longer wore them, the reflection amulet they had found on their quest for the Urn of Sacred Ashes had replaced her joining amulet, but she still held on to the darkspawn blood-filled vial.

The old was always replaced with the new and more useful in every case but one, a ring that she had worn since he had met her. It was a simple thing, a small band of gold, yet Venna never took it off. For the longest time, Zevran kept his curiosity to himself, but eventually, it got the best of him and he had to ask.

It was one of the warmer Ferelden nights and Zevran had convinced Venna to bathe with him in a nearby river. He watched as she carefully removed her armor and jewelry…everything but the golden band. When she noticed him staring he looked back up at her face, smirking as he always did in order to divert her attention from his interest. Venna shook her head with an amused smile and stepped down into the water beside him. She let out a surprised shriek and a giggle when Zevran pulled her into him. His arms wrapped around her and she settled on his lap. She pressed a chaste kiss to his lips and smirked teasingly. Though Zevran’s grip on her hips tightened he made no attempt to further things.

Their bath was just that. Venna was a little suspicious that Zevran had made no attempts to escalate their activities but she said nothing. It was as they were drying off that Zevran finally voiced his question. “Amor, if you do not mind my asking, what is that ring you always wear? I have never once seen you take it off.” As soon as the words left him Zevran knew he had stumbled upon a touchy subject.

Venna stopped her movements and looked down with a solemn expression. Zevran was ready to say she didn’t have to tell him when she spoke. “It was my wedding ring.” Her words shocked Zevran to silence. Venna hadn’t said much about her wedding day past the fact that it ended with her fiancé dead and her becoming a warden. “I told you we would talk about my wedding later and we never really got around to it. Perhaps now is the time.” She looked at him for confirmation and he nodded in agreement.

She sighed before continuing to dry and dress. Afterward, she settled on the grass and motioned for Zevran to sit beside her. “My marriage was arranged. I had no say in who, when, or if I married, and for years that made me bitter.” She began quietly. “It wasn’t until I was about eighteen that the idea of marriage even began to sound appealing to me. The idea of it being arranged still put me off, but I knew my father would never choose someone he didn’t think would make me happy so I trusted him.” She paused wringing her hands nervously. “When the time finally came I was both excited and terrified, up until the moment I actually met Nelaros.” Venna took a moment to compose herself. “He was more than I had hoped for. He was handsome, kind, and genuinely wanted to make me happy. I thought my future was looking up.” She said with a small smile, but then her face fell and she went silent.

“Amor?” Zevran asked quietly as she suddenly curled herself into him. He held her silently until she was ready to continue.

“The son of a nobleman wandered drunkenly into the Alienage with a couple friends that day. He grabbed one of our women who broke free thankfully. Shianni never could keep her mouth shut and threatened to gut him like a pig. He knocked out one of the men who asked him to stop before turning his gaze on me.” Venna paused once more. “I really shouldn’t chastise Shianni too much. I was the one who told him to go fuck himself.” A sad yet amused smile graced her lips. “He tried to grab me but didn’t have the chance. Shianni knocked him out with a bottle. It was probably one of the more satisfying moments in my life.” Her expression fell once more. “Of course, we discovered he was the Arl Urien’s son, Vaughan, right after that.”

Zevran couldn’t help but look surprised. “I suspect that did not end well.”

“No, it didn’t.” Venna sighed. “Vaughan’s two friends dragged his unconscious ass away from the Alienage, but with threats that we would regret our actions. Despite our uneasiness, and knowing they would no doubt come back, we tried to move on with our ceremonies.” Venna rubbed her arm. “That was about the time Duncan, the Grey Warden who recruited me, walked into the Alienage. I gave him a less than friendly welcome given what had just occurred, but he seemed to take no offense. I backed off once it became clear that he knew our elder. We had a short exchange regarding my battle knowledge; though our elder made it quite clear I would not be available to join the Wardens.”

“I assume circumstances changed.” He said quietly, holding her closer.

Venna huffed out a dry laugh. “Yeah, you could say that. We were midway through our wedding ceremony when Vaughan came back. He knocked out and kidnapped a group of our women, including Shianni, myself, and Valora, my cousin Soris’ bride.” Venna shook her head sadly when she mentioned Valora. “I was the last one to wake up after we were brought to his estate. Shortly after that Vaughan’s guards came in to take us. They-they killed Nola. She was panicking, and told them to stay away.” Venna’s fists clenched at the memory. “They took everyone, except for me. I guess there was some knowledge there that I knew how to fight since they planned to tie me up, but that was about when Soris wandered in with a sword. The guards laughed until he slid the weapon to me. I killed them and left with Soris to find the others. He and Nelaros had come to save us.” She closed her eyes with a pained face. “We came across Nelaros just in time to see him get cut down, and my mind went blank. I killed the guards, all of them with no hesitation. I don’t even really remember doing it. Afterward, I knelt next to Nelaros, and in his last moments, he handed me the ring. He couldn’t even say anything, that was it and he was gone.” A tear ran down her face. “He barely even knew me and he _died_ for me.”

Venna took a deep breath. “The short of it is, I worked my way through the estate killing every guard that crossed my path. I made it to Vaughan’s quarters in time to save everyone but-but Shianni.” Her voice cracked on her cousin’s name. “I never have forgiven myself for that. Shianni is strong but that day, she was so broken.” She shook her head. “It felt good to rid that bastard Vaughan of his head.

“Valora was scarred after the incident; it was a terrible way to be introduced to Denerim. After we returned to the Alienage and told our elder what happened, Valora and the other girls took Shianni home while Soris and I stood and waited for the guard to come. When they asked who had killed Vaughan and the guards I took the blame. They knew I had help, but I refused to turn Soris in.” Venna fidgeted a bit and Zevran released his hold on her. She stood and walked a short ways away, looking at the river. “I was never supposed to be a Warden, I was supposed to hang. Duncan saved me, he said I had the qualities of a Warden, and he admired my refusal to let others fall with me. He conscripted me on the spot. The guard captain respected the Wardens, so he wouldn’t fight Duncan. He just told him to get me out of the city. I had less than an hour to say my goodbyes to everyone before I left, not knowing if I would ever see them again.” Venna scoffed. “Because of the slaver incident, some of them I never did see again. I’m grateful that I was able to save my father, though.”

Zevran came up to her, standing beside her. He sighed. “You and I do not get where we are with happy experiences.” The words had been said before when they had spoken of their mothers. “I am sorry for all that has happened to you, dear Venna.”

Venna shook her head. “It was not your doing. Well, the attempt on my life was your fault, but I have forgiven that.” A small amount of humor had returned to her. “I wish I could have saved more of my kin. Valendrian and Valora were gone before I even managed to return home. After everything he had been through, Soris didn’t deserve to lose his wife like that.”

“You did everything you could amor, you know that.” Zev wrapped his arms around her, holding her close to him.

“I know,” Venna replied. Things between them fell silent after that. They went about gathering their things before returning to camp. Venna was sentimental, but sometimes Zevran had to remind himself that she had every reason to be.


End file.
